Huntingdon, Bedford, Stanstead, Florence

[den]

Yesterday was Jetlag Recovery Day. Aaron & I slept fairly late, then around lunchtime we piled into Steve's Mondeo and drove 25 miles to Bedford for a look. We wandered around the centre of the old town, saw the bridge John Bunyan was imprisoned in when he wrote Pilgrim's Progress*, checked out the museum and generally had a relaxing time of it. On the way back to Offord Darcy we drove past the airship sheds at Cardigan where the R101 and R102 were built, and where the victims of the R101 crash and the British airship industry are buried.

This morning was another easy start, then a quick drive to Stanstead Airport for our Ryanair flight to Pisa. The 737-800 had slightly more legroom than the Airbus, but the whole plane was cattleclass and there were no seat assignments; you simply grab the first seat you can. There wasn't any entertainment on the flight. You don't expect much when you pay 1p per person (plus airport costs.) All up the return flight for 2 cost us GB£67.00.

I read my book. Werner von Braun is now in White Sands and is suddenly not a Nazi, and Chief Designer Korelov is out of the Gulags and nabbed 2000 minor scientists and technicians to be shipped to Moscow.

Bruno met us at Pisa and brought us to Florence. My first thought when I saw my room in Hotel David was "Bloody hell it's HUGE!" I could lay across the bed and still not hang over any sides. The Monsters won't get me tonight.

Aaron insists we get a pizza from down the road. Looks like it's dinner time. Tomorrow we do a Factory Tour, after that it'll be 3 days of Touristing.

*It was actually the bridge before the present one. The new Ousebridge (pronounced "Ooze bridge") was built in 1820

Comments

Several responses in one

[klishnor.livejournal.com]

1. If the British government had gone with the R100 design we'd probably still have airships floating around
2. Von Braun chose to head for the Americans when it became obvious that the Russians would reach their location first. He did allow his staff to decide for themselves which new masters they preferred, most headed West with him.
3. The book accompanies a TV series we just had over here.

[quen-elf.livejournal.com]

hey, bedford's my ends! well, ok, it isn't quite - milton keynes is 20 miles away or so. But we have the same river. Ooze (ok ouse) is such a great name for a river. (There are several called that in the UK, including one in Grimsby which is a good deal oozeier.)

Ouze-ing

[klishnor.livejournal.com]

The one that flows through York and joins the Humber has a distinct tendency to ooze into the buildings on its banks every other winter.

Re: Ouze-ing

[quen-elf.livejournal.com]

EWWW. That is one river I so would not want in my house :)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

when I get back to the UK I'll have a car... sort of. I'll be getting a Vauxhall Corsa from Stanstead. Drop a phone number here on Saturday afternoon (I'll delete it asap) and I'll give you a call if I get a chance.

[quen-elf.livejournal.com]

eeek! scary. no, don't do that! :)

(no offense - i'm just neurotic)